Scots Abroad

As the following chart shows (all figures are approximate), there are many more Scots, or those of Scots descent abroad than there are at home in Scotland. the Scots have long been travelers and adventurers, and have helped shape the evolution of the countries they emigrated to. The Scots were even well known to the ancient civilisations, and there is a Latin inscription on the walls of one of the Christian Catacombs in Rome that reads, 'Quid Scoti hic fuerunt' - which translates as 'Some Scots exist here' i.e. 'The Scots were here'.

Interesting Facts

• There have been more major inventions from the Scots than any other country in the world on a per-capita basis
• The furthest you can be from the coast in Scotland is about 50 miles.
• The first person mentioned in the Bible is a Scot, King James VI.
• Scotland is the only country in the world, that Coca Cola is not the best selling soft drink. (Irn Bru made by the Barr company is).
• The shortest scheduled flight in the world, is Westray to Papa in the Orkneys, 1.5 miles long and takes 1 minute 14 seconds.
• The greatest distance from North to South of Scotland is 275 miles and the greatest width is 154 miles.
• The guillotine was used in Scotland 200 years before it was used in the French Revolution (The Scottish Maiden).
• The Lincon Monument in Edinburgh was the first statue of an American president to be constructed outside the U.S.A. in 1893 in memory of the Scottish soldiers who fought in the American civil war.
• There are over 450 golf courses in Scotland.
• The first Airship to cross the Atlantic the "R34", was built in Scotland, built by William Beardmore and Company in Inchinnan, Renfrewshire, Scotland
• Theodore Roosevelt said of the Scots " they became the vanguard of our civilisation ".
• Edinburgh was the first city in the world to have its own fire service.
• Scotland has 787 islands most of which are on the west coast.
• St Andrews golf course is the oldest in the world.